At What Cost
by DefilorKotor
Summary: Set near the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. A 15 year old Rebel named Alan Voidos nearly dies defending Fondor, but is offered an apprenticeship by Lord Vader, and for the sake of his family, accepts. Will the life of a Sith Apprentice under the Emperor's radar break Alan, or will he live become one of the greatest Sith warriors in history? Heavily AU of TFU.
1. Crushed at Fondor

The haze of the sandstorm and heat distorted the vision of the Rebel s. Hours earlier, there had been not even a breeze to speak of, but now, the sand of Fondor washed over the city, rendering the comms impossible to use. However, the Rebels did not seek immediate shelter, as was advised during these sandstorms, but they stood their ground. They were waiting for an Imperial retaliation, one that would be coming, very, very soon. A young soldier called out, "When are they coming?" he said to no one in particular. However, his voice was lost in the wind.

One hour later…

_Pwonk! _The sound of a mechanical foot hitting the concrete screamed through the city, through the haze and sand. The ears of the Rebels perked up, and their blasters and rifles were quickly pulled up and pointed into the blurred sandstorm. _Pwonk!_ Again. _Pwonk, pwonk, pwonk, pwonk, pwonk! _Multiple mechanical feet hit the ground, creating a tension that not even a lightsaber could break through. Suddenly, more sounds came into focus. The sounds of marching footsteps, and the constant _Pwonk_, and… was that a lightsaber? The anxious, tense Rebels held their guns up higher, aiming into the wall of sand flowing through the city. The sounds stopped suddenly, other than the sound of a deep humming and the sound of the whirlwind of powdery particles. Then…

"There they are! Blast them!" a voice from the concealing sand wall ordered. A hail of laser bolts began flying through the air, into the assembled Rebels. After a moment of shock that lasted less than a second, the insurgents seeked cover, and found themselves in the middle of a battle. They fired back with their own blaster rifles, into the ocean of sand between them, and a presumably huge Imperial Response Force. Then, a new sound unleashed itself. _Breou, breou, breou! _A different hail of laser bolts began pelting the Rebel's defenses and soldiers alike. The young soldier who had called out an hour earlier looked up from behind his cover, and saw the new laser fire was coming from higher up. "They're AT-STs! They have AT-STs!" he warned his fellow soldiers. A few of them ran out into the laserfire, shooting. It was dumb, stupid, irrational and, unintentionally fatal. The deep humming grew louder, aided by the marching of feet, human and mechanical alike, and the laser fire. The youthful soldier got up from behind his cover, prepared to fire a volley of fire into the crowd of Stormtroopers. Then, suddenly, the Rebel felt his chest erupt in a white hot, agonizing feeling. He looked down, and saw he had been shot. Shock took him, and he stumbled backward against the side of a nearby building.

Pain. That was all he knew at this moment. Pain, so agonizingly excruciating that he nearly lost consciousness. He just barely managed to stay awake, and cover his chest with his palm, trying to stop the bleeding. The blood was everywhere. Soon, his hand was completely slick with it. "Ourrrggh…" he moaned. He then got the feeling he was being carried, presumably to atleast some kind of safety. As he was being carried, he saw a Rocket Squad shoot into the hazy sand, toward the Empire's army. Then, he saw what seemed to be the exact same rockets firing back, killing them. _The Force_… he thought.

A red lightsaber carved its way through the bodies of metal, armor, body and sand, killing everything in its way. It had a black and silver hilt, and belonged to none other than Darth Vader. The Dark Lord was leading his army through this city of traitors. A Rebel ran towards him, attempting to stop him from reaching his squad of fellow soldiers, and was impaled and tossed aside, and his squad followed soon after. AT-STs fired this way and that, killing traitorous civilians and insurgents, as did the Stormtroopers. It was a massacre,

The soldier kept going in and out of consciousness, and eventually found himself on the ground. He mustered the courage and willpower to look how he had gotten there, and saw the corpse of his would-be savior, and the huge army of troopers and All Terrain Scout Transports heading his way, toward the center, the capital, the command center. They had failed. They lost. Although the situation was bleak, there were some hardened Rebels he could see off in the distance, in the way of the army. They were dual wielding blaster rifles and pistols, aswell as one of them holding a huge minigun. A last stand. Laserfire was exchanged, and even with injuries even more grievous than his, they kept fighting, until, they too were killed, and stampeded on. The army was approaching his position now, and he somehow managed to stand, reaching for the two blaster pistols on his nearly-savior's corpse. He held them up, aiming at the army, and limped forward.

Two minutes later, 94 Stormtroopers were dead, and the fatally wounded Rebel still struggled. He shot back and forth, weaving, to the best of his ability, through the laserfire, until one single bolt hit him. He was stunned again, like he had been earlier, but he kept shooting. Another laser hit him, and another. There was falter in his step, in his limping stride. The Dark Lord himself approached, and as the troopers kept shooting. Lord Vader ordered his soldiers to stop firing, and they stopped. The youthful Rebel was on his hands and knees at this point, and when he looked up to see the Dark Lord, there was fear in his eyes, but determination in his heart. The Dark Lord sensed this. "You are certainly a determined one. You have fought through this, and you are the only survivor. You are the most competent Rebel I've ever seen. Perhaps I may take you as an apprentice..." Lord Vader said. The venomous promise of an apprenticeship from Vader was difficult to refuse but required the binding of your existence to an unbreakable vow to the second most dangerous person in the Galaxy. It was terrible to live like that, but if you refused, you would be subject to such agony you would have wished you had taken the 'offer'. The young soldier had lost everything. All his friends had been in this battle, and almost assuredly, every one of them died. His family would be used against him if he refused. They would be harmed if he didn't accept. He didn't know anything about being a Sith or a Jedi, or a force user for that matter, but for the sake of his family, and everything he loved, he had to accept.

"I will… do… as you….. command…" said the soldier, coughing and choking on his blood, "…master…" Then everything went black.


	2. The First True Test

**This is based on weird factors that Starkiller did and did not do something, and did something else, for example, in this story, Juno Eclipse was never the pilot of Starkiller, and the entire romance between them had never existed. There will be a chapter based entirely from Galen's point of view, perhaps even several chapters, telling the story how I wish it told. Alan also does things very similar to what Galen/Starkiller did, showing a sort of 'history repeats itself' idea.**

* * *

If you asked someone what training was, chances are they'd call it 'preparation'. However, for Alan, this was not the case. Alan Voidos had spent the last few years in such grueling, unsavory conditions, he had wished he had died at Fondor. Vader was putting him through such fatiguing and draining physical activities; any other person would have most likely died by now. His master obviously did not care for his welfare and survival; he could probably just go find another apprentice.

The neglect and grueling physical action made Alan work harder, to at least get some kind of recognition from his master. Gradually, he did. As the weeks passed, the young Sith became stronger, and became more able to call upon the Force, and the Dark Side for that matter. With the Dark Side, he became exponentially stronger. The raw power that graced itself upon him was immense. It was like hugging a lonely, but psychotically insane person who hugged you just a bit too much for any kind of comfort to be present.

* * *

He had gotten a summons from his master almost a minute ago via his personal computer band, informing him of an important 'assignment'. Not wanting to keep his master waiting, he hurried to the bridge, through the stony, grey corridors to the bridge of the _Executor_. He passed the Stormtrooper patrols, officers, and some 501st troops. Oh, how he hated them all. They all dressed blandly (not that they had a choice); there was no color, no expression. Nothing. They never conversed with him or each other unless it was Imperial business, or if it was about an issue or problem. It was so incredibly maddening. He realized he had been walking for 4 minutes, and quickly hurried as fast he could, his black half-cloak billowing behind him.

Finally, he reached the bridge. His master, donning his cold, reflective, black armor, looked out into the dark expanses of space. Alan kneeled before his master. "What is your will, my master?" he said, obediently. "Your training is nearly complete. It is time to face your first true test." Vader replied. "A Jedi, my master?"

"Yes. Jedi Master Ranar Vekraa, a veteran of the Clone Wars. Find him, eliminate him, and bring his lightsaber to me." Vader informed him. "He is attacking a pronounced Imperial shipyard, around the orbit of Lianna." "As you wish, my master." Alan unquestioningly understood. "Leave no witnesses to your existence. Any droids, Imperials, or Rebels that see you must be killed. No one can know you are my apprentice." Vader said, igniting controversy in Alan's mind. "Of… of course, my master. It will be done."

Alan left the bridge and returned to his quarters to get his lightsabers, then walked his way to the hangar of the _Executor_, where his ship, the_ Lone Shadow_ waited. The _Shadow_ had originally belonged to Vader's previous apprentice, 'Starkiller'. He had only known of this because he had accessed the _Lone Shadow_'s database, and found his entry under 'previous owners'. Apparently, this 'Starkiller' had been one of the best force users of the time, next to the Emperor of course. He had, however, been betrayed by Vader had proved a match for him. This old apprentice also created the Rebellion not completely indirectly. And, it seemed Starkiller's ship was the _Rogue Shadow_, the same exact ship that belonged to Alan now, as Alan had just renamed it, had it painted, and gotten exponentially more powerful weapons implemented on it. He thought on this as he walked to his ship.

* * *

Suddenly, when Alan was walking through the freight holding area, he heard a lightsaber ignite, and turned around to see a Jedi Master, Haak Ko (a Togrutan), jump down from one of the towering shelves full of crates of equipment and shipments. Alan ignited his crimson lightsaber, holding it in a backward stance, and swung it toward his landing opponent, causing the Togrutan Jedi to leap back, slightly slicing through the thin robes. While the Jedi was preoccupied dodging, the Sith Apprentice ignited his second lightsaber, a dark blue blade, holding it in a backward stance as well. Alan ran toward the Togruta and kicked her against the freight boxes, and then stabbing her through the abdomen with both sabers in a brutal finish that pinned the Jedi to the wall. A buzzing transition sound that Alan had heard so many times before echoed out, and the Jedi morphed into the apprentice's training droid (and Starkiller's), PROXY. Alan took the lightsabers out of the impaled droid and put them back on his belt, just as PROXY said "Ah, master, another wonderful duel! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to complete my primary programming again, master." Alan replied to the droid with a slight hint of annoyed cheerfulness. "That's never stopped you before."

Several minutes later, PROXY and Alan had reached the hangar in which the _Lone Shadow _was located in. There was a woman, dressed in a standard black uniform of Imperial officers. She was working on the _Lone Shadow_. This was curious. Alan usually worked alone (with the exception of PROXY) and had his ships both outfitted and upgraded by himself or the best mechanics the Empire had to offer. With curiosity, he approached the woman, noting several changes that had been made to the _Shadow_, presumably by the officer. He suddenly shouted out to her, "What have you done to my ship?" with the ferocity of a bear startled in its sleep. She replied back, with an angelic yet completely confident voice. "Just improving upon your designs."

"How so?" he said with an irritated tone. "Your ship's scanners can now search entire star systems for even a trace of a target, and the cloaking field can now activate even while landing, firing, or during hyperspace." She informed him.

"And another thing, who are you? What business do you have here, working on my ship?"

"I'm Captain Juno Eclipse. Lord Vader assigned me as your pilot." She said, explanatorily. "Did he? Wonderful." said the Sith, doing his best to act indifferent and disinterested.

Alan clambered up the loading ramp into the cockpit of the _Lone Shadow_, followed by Captain Eclipse and PROXY. _Today is going to be a very long day,_ thought the Sith Apprentice tiredly.

"Set the course for Lianna, Juno." commanded Alan. PROXY walked into the cockpit as well. "Give me the target." PROXY morphed into Master Vekraa and began describing the Jedi from Imperial records.

"General Vekraa was a veteran of the Clone Wars, and when Order 66 was issued, he was ready. Reports say he retreated into the forests of Kashyyyk, and the five hundred Clones sent after him in a 'search expedition' were never heard from again. As of late he has faded out of hiding, gained favor of the Rebellion and has attacked many Imperial targets, and most recently, the TIE Fighter and Victory-class Star Destroyer factories over Lianna."

The apprentice remarked swiftly. "He's trying to attract attention. Trying to get recognition so substantial that Vader has to deal with it himself."

"He hasn't done a good job of it." muttered Juno. However, the apprentice heard her perfectly with his trained ears. "No, he has not."


End file.
